American student Sarah Papenheim, 21, was stabbed to death in her Netherlands apartment on Wednesday, according to police. The alleged suspect is her 23-year-old roommate, CNN reports.
Authorities told The Washington Post that the roommate, a male musician, fled the apartment and was arrested at the Eindhoven train station an hour and a half from campus. His identity has not yet been released.
Papenheim, originally from Andover, Minnesota, was studying psychology at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, South Holland. She was known for her drumming skills and is described by her fellow students as “relentlessly positive.”
Her brother Josh took his own life three years back. Once she moved to the Netherlands to study psych at Erasmus’ School of Social and Behavourial Sciences, she declared a focus: suicide.
“My only two kids, and I’ve lost them both,” Papenheim’s mother, Donee Odegard, told Minneapolis’ Star Tribune.
Prior to the stabbing, witnesses reportedly heard “arguing and screaming” in her apartment near the university.
“They found her in a bath of blood, stabbed to death and beat up and stabbed for no reason, but trying to be his friend,” Odegard told Fox9, classifying her daughter’s roommate and alleged killer as “mentally unstable.”
She further elaborated to KRCRTV that Papenheim had described strange behavior a few days prior to the alleged attack, and people from “mental health” came to the apartment.
Her daughter had “shooed them away because she was afraid he would think she called them,” Odegard told the Star Tribune.
“I told her she needed to get out of there, that he seemed dangerous,” Odegard said. “But she told me, ‘No, Mom. I’m his only friend and he won’t hurt me.'”
Metro has reached out to Erasmus University for comment.
Per CNN, the university said, “Our deepest condolences go out to all Sarah’s family and friends at this poignant time. The university is shocked by this terrible incident and is taking care of upset students and employees.”
Sarah Papenheim GoFundMe
A memorial fund has been set up for Sarah Papenheim. The page, created just yesterday, has already received over $34K out of its $40,000 goal.
Friends and fans, yesterday I lost a dear friend to a senseless act. Her family needs to bring her home from Rotterdam, Netherlands, and it’s going to… https://t.co/VuCwnNKpab
— Joyann Parker (@joyannparker) December 13, 2018
“It’s going to be very expensive for travel costs for the family and to bring Sarah home, not to mention any funeral and burial costs involved,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Costs are estimated to be around $40,000.”
“Sarah was a beautiful, vibrant young woman and a talented musician with a smile that could light up a room,” the page continues. “She played with some of the best musicians on the scene in the Twin Cities and had many close relationships with them. Her presence is irreplaceable.”
According to an update on the Sarah Papenheim GoFundMe page, her parents left for The Netherlands today.
